The present invention concerns an apparatus for the insertion of a fiber band into a drawing machine with a band entry apparatus exhibiting a condenser that possesses an insertion opening over its entire length as well as a process for using such an apparatus.
In the practice, increasing efforts are taken to automate the transport of cans between a carding machine and a drawing machine or even to dispense with such can transport. Relative to this purpose, it is necessary to adjust the operations of the carding machine and the drawing machine to one another. Otherwise, breakage or run-out of the fiber band being led to the stretch machine can occur. Thus, it is necessary to thread the fiber band into a guide funnel, so that the fiber band can be subsequently automatically led to a following drawing machine. This threading of the fiber band is difficult to do by hand and is also time consuming. Further, the drawing machine to which the fiber band is to be inserted must be shut down.
It is therefore a principal object of the present invention to avoid the designated disadvantages and to create an apparatus as well as a process, which help a fiber band can to be introduced into a drawing machine, without shutting down the drawing machine. Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the following description or may be obvious from the description, or may be learned through practice of the invention.
The purpose stated above will be achieved by a band entry apparatus exhibiting a condenser that possesses an insertion opening extending over its entire length. Because the fiber consolidating condenser possesses an insertion slot, extending over its full length, it is not necessary to lay in the fiber band axially into the condenser. Moreover, the fiber band is grasped on both sides outside of the longitudinal length of the condenser, and is inserted from the side or from above into the insertion slot. In this way, the laying in of the fiber band can be accomplished very quickly.
The condenser, which is provided with an insertion slot, can be constructed in an optional manner and, for instance, can be made of several appropriately arranged rods or the like between which the fiber band is conducted in a compressing manner. Advantageously, the condenser may be designed as a guide funnel with a longitudinal slot serving as an insertion opening. This slot can be constructed to be capable of opening and closing, allowing the slot to be accessible for the insertion phase but otherwise can be covered. Advantageously, in attachment to the condenser, a feeder or even a roll pair may be provided, that follows the condenser. Further, depending upon the task to be carried out by the roll pair, at least one of the rolls may be a feeder roll and can be power driven.
It is advantageous if the fiber band intake apparatus possesses a band contact arrangement in connection with a control device, so that irregularities in the fiber band, which possibly were caused by the insertion procedure, can be again compensated for.
After a run-out of a fiber band already in the drawing machine, a re-entry of a fiber band into the band insert apparatus can lead to an interruption of the fiber band transport. To compensate for the interruption advantageously, a band storage loop in communication with the control device is provided before the insertion equipment. In this way, by an appropriate control of the drawing machine assurance can be given that the band storage does not exceed its capacity. After an executed reinsertion of the band in the band feed apparatus, the storage is reduced to a specified minimum buffer content.
In an advantageous improvement of the object of the invention a provision can be made that the band contact device makes use of measuring rolls.
So that the insertion of the fiber band into the compression space between two rolls is made easier, the rolls of the roll pair which may interengage with one another by means of radially extending side provides may possess at least partially shielded, circumferential surfaces between which the fiber band is guided, and which exhibit an entry opening that is accessible at least during the insertion of the fiber band. Correspondingly, a further practical development of the invented apparatus allows the insertion opening to be made larger by means of a movable bearing arrangement of one of the rolls of a roll pair additionally easing the insertion of the fiber band in the rolls.
More advantageously, the insertion slots of the condenser and further elements of the band feed apparatus are disposed in a common plane, which allows introducing the fiber band into the mechanism of the band feed apparatus by a simple, single movement. A further simplification of the insertion of the band into a band feed apparatus may be achieved by a band guidance means which is in the same plane as the entry opening.
With the assistance of the apparatus in accord with the present invention, the above stated purpose can be achieved with an invented process of having the fiber band introduced into the band feed apparatus transverse to the normal fiber transport direction without shutting down the operating parts.
The apparatus essentially leads to a simplification of the band insertion, which is predicated on no stopping of the drawing machine and is carried through in minimal time. In spite of this, it is not necessary to join the end of a fiber band to be inserted with the end of an already running fiber band. For the band insertion, no expensive, complex changes in the area of the drawing machine need be undertaken, so that already existing equipment can be re-equipped at favorable cost without any great material provision nor loss of time. Moreover, on the grounds of the simple course of the movements, the process in accord with the invention can be easily automated.
Embodiment examples of the invention are described below in greater detail with the aid of the drawings.